Vacuum cleaner bag

ABSTRACT

A MULTI-COMPARTMENT VACUUM CLEANER BAG FORMED OF AN AIR PERMEABLE MATERIAL COMPRISING FIRST BAG TUBE MEMBER AND A SECOND BAG TUBE MEMBER, SAID BAG TUBE MEMBERS BEING INTERCONNECTED, SAID FIRST BAG TUBE MEMBER BEING ADAPTED TO BE CONNECTED TO A VACUUM CLEANER, THE INTERIOR OF SAID FIRST BAG TUBE MEMBER BEING IN AIRFLOWING RELATION WITH THE INTERIOR OF SAID SECOND BAG TUBE MEMBER, SAID SECOND BAG TUBE MEMBER BEING BEING OPENABLE AT ONE END THEROF.

Nov. 16, 1971 s, HOWARD ET AL 3,619,989

VACUUM CLEANER BAG Filed April 3, 1969 INVENTOR. s01 HOWARD ROBERT SC 1AA F Attorneys Patented Nov. 16, 1971 3,619,989 VACUUM CLEANER BAG Sol Howard and Robert Schaaf, Brooklyn, N.Y., assignors to Mil-An Mfg. Corp., Brooklyn, N.Y. Filed Apr. 3, 1969, Ser. No. 813,151 Int. Cl. B01d 46/02 US. Cl. 55-368 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A multi-compartment vacuum cleaner bag formed of an air permeable material comprising a first bag tube member and a second bag tube member, said bag tube members being interconnected, said first bag tube member being adapted to be connected to a vacuum cleaner, the interior of said first bag tube member being in airfiowing relation with the interior of said second bag tube member, said second bag tube member being openable at one end thereof.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION (1) Field of the invention This invention relates generally to vacuum cleaner filter bags and more particularly to a vacuum cleaner bag which does not have to be removed from the vacuum cleaner in order to empty out its contents.

(2) Description of the prior art In the operation of upright conventional vacuum cleaners, the filter bags therefor are usually connected to a coupling and the coupling is sized and adapted to fit onto the outlet port of the machine. A particularly unpleasant disadvantage of this method is that when the filter bag becomes filled with dust or dirt which has been vacuumed up through the machine, the filter bag must be disconnected from the machine in order to empty out its contents. As a result, during this operation some of the dirt and dust falls out of the machine and out of the bag onto the floor. There are also vacuum machines that provide for a filter bag which is more or less of -a permanent mount so that it cannot be taken off readily. Obviously this makes it very difficult to empty. In these latter prior art filter bags, provision is made for them to be emptied from the top, usually by zippered access means.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore one of the principal objectives of this invention to provide a highly novel vacuum cleaner filter bag which is multi-compartmented and adapted to be emptied from a position away from the dirt laden air discharge means of the vacuum cleaner;

In accordance with the present invention, there is now provided a multi-compartment vacuum filter bag formed of an air permeable material comprising a first bag tube member and a second bag tube member, said bag tube members being interconnected, said bag tube members each having one end thereof in common securement with the other in a sealed airtight relationship, the other end of said first bag tube member being open and providing access means into the interior thereof, the other end of said second bag tube member being openable, the interior of said first bag tube member being in air-flowing relation with the interior of said second bag tube member.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a side view, partially sectional, and fragmented illustrating the invention bag when mounted in an upright vacuum cleaner.

FIG. 2 is a fragmented front plan view of a vacuum cleaner filter bag constructed in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic sectional view taken along line 33 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view, in fragmented form, taken along line 44 of FIG. 2.

DESCRIPTION OF THE SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS Referring now to the figures of the drawing in detail, for purposes of illustration, FIG. 1 shows the invention filter bag 10 in its operative environment when installed into a suitable upright vacuum cleaner 11. In accordance with the invention, the bag 10, formed of an air permeable material, preferably cloth, comprises a first bag tube member 12 and a second bag tube member 14, each bag being of substantially rectangular shape with the first bag tube being slightly longer than the second (FIGS. 2 and 4) for a reason that will become readily apparent subsequently. The bag tube members 12 and 14 are interconnected, each having one end 16 and 18, respectively, in common air tight securement with the other and each having one longitudinal bag wall 20 and 22, respectively, in common opposing securement, such as by stitching at 21, 23. Ends 16 and 18 may be commonly secured by tucking end 16 of bag tube 12 inside the inwardly folded over ends of 17 and 19 of the second bag tube walls 22 and 40, re spectively, and stitching the whole together as at 25. The other end 24 of the first bag tube 12 is open and providing, when suitably adapted, such as by a conventional collar coupling 26, for insertion into the dirt-laden air discharge port 27 of the operating vacuum cleaner 11, for direct access into the interior 30 of the first bag tube member. Because of the longer length of the first bag tube 12, the'coupling of bag to machine is more readily accomplished. The other end 32 of the second bag tube member 14 is adapted to be openable and air tightly closeable by means of a suitable clamp 34, such as a pinch clamp, which is tensionally fitted onto the inwardly folded over extereme ends 36, 38 of the second bag tube front and rear walls 22 and 40, respectively. The front and rear walls 22 and 40 are, in turn, connected by means of a pair of opposing, single gusseted side walls 42 and 44. Accordingly, the second bag tube member 14 defines an interior compartment 46. The first bag tube member 12, having a longitudinal front wall 48 and opposing rear wall 20 (earlier identified) connected by securing (such as by stitching) the longitudinal edges, as at 50-52, of said front and rear walls 48 and 20, defines an interior compartment 30 (also earlier identified). Preferably, first bag tube member 12 is of a narrower transverse dimension and depth than second bag tube member 14 to provide for a more intense on-rush of air upwardly through the interior compartment 30 thereof (FIGS. 2 and 3). In turn, the interior compartment 46 is rendered expandable by virtue of its gusseted side walls 42 and 44 when air passes downwardly therethrough, as will be described hereinbelow.

The interior compartment 30 of the first bag tube member 12 is adapted to be in air-flowing relation with the interior compartment 46 of the second bag tube member 14. This relation is accomplished by providing a generally circular aperture 60, in a generally central location, at the terminal portion 62 of rear wall 20 of the first bag tube member 12; another circular aperture 64 is provided at the terminal upper portion 66 of .front wall 22 of the second bag tube member 14, which is in substantial registry with aperture 60 (FIG. 4). Thus, when access end 24 of the said first bag tube member is suitably connected to the air-discharging port 26 of an operative upright vacuum cleaner, e.g., 11, dirt laden air passing through the machine into the first bag tube member 12 is directed upwardly through the first interior compartment 30 in the direction of the arrows, as shown, thence passing through registered apertures 60, 64 and finally downwardly into the second interior compartment 46, the dirt particles coming to rest at the bottom of the second bag tube member 14. At such time when it becomes necessary to empty out the filter bag, all that need be done is to release the clamp 34 from the bottom 32 of the second bag tube member 14 and allow the dirt or dust contents to spill out into a waste container.

While the main stream of air has been described as traveling in the direction of the arrows, it is to be understood that by 'virtue of the air permeable nature of the bag walls that air may pass laterally between the opposing longitudinal walls 20, 22 and any dirt or dust particles which might pass into the second interior compartment 46 thereby will drop to the bottom thereof by the force of gravity. Moreover, although less preferable, alternatively the double wall construction provided by opposing walls 20, 22 may be replaced by a single common party wall (not shown).

Thus, in accordance with the invention, there is provided a filter bag that need not be disconnected from the vacuum cleaner, as in the prior art, and spillage of dirt or dust is thus minimized or eliminated. Moreover, this bag has been found to have a much greater capacity than any other prior art bag similar thereto and because of its method of operation, its dirt capacity considerably improves without any resulting back pressure.

What is claimed is:

1. An upright vacuum cleaner filter bag comprising an air permeable cloth material defining a reusable filter bag, said reusable filter bag being provided with a first bag tube member and a second bag tube member with said first and second members each defining an interior compartment, said first and second members being disposed longitudinally in a side-to-side relationship with an end portion of said first member disposed adjacent to an end portion of said second member, securing means connecting said first member end portion to said second member end portion in an air tight relationship, said securing means including stitching to secure the cloth material of said first and second members together, aperture means disposed in said first member end portion and in said second member end portion connected by said securing means to define an air-flowing relationship between said first member interior compartment and said second member interior compartment, means disposed on an opposite end portion of said first member for connecting said first member opposite end portion to a dirtladen air discharge port of an upright vacuum cleaner to provide direct access into said first member interior compartment, said first member being longer than said second member so that said first member opposite end portion is readily connected to the air discharge port of the upright vacuum cleaner, and removable clamping means disposed on an opposite end portion of said second memher to allow said second member opposite end portion to be repeatably disposed between a first position wherein said second member opposite end portion is closed to hold dirt within said second member and a second position wherein said second member opposite end portion is opened to empty said dirt from said second member, whereby dirt-laden air passes from the air discharge port of the upright vacuum cleaner through said first member opposite end portion into said first member interior compartment and through said aperture means into said second member interior compartment where the dirt comes to rest when said second member opposite end portion is in said first closed position, said second member being emptied of the dirt when said second member opposite end portion is in said second opened position.

2. A filter bag according to claim 1, wherein said first and second members are substantially rectangular in shape, said first member being provided with a narrower transverse dimension and depth than said second member to provide a more intense on-rush of air through said first member interior compartment.

3. A filter bag according to claim 1, wherein said aperture means include a generally centrally disposed opening provided in a cloth wall of said first member end portion in substantial registry with a generally centrally disposed opening provided in an adjacent cloth wall of said second member end portion.

4. A filter bag according to claim 1, wherein said removable clamping means includes a tensionable clamp.

5. A filter bag according to claim 1, wherein said first and second members are substantially rectangular in shape, said first member being provided with a narrow transverse dimension and depth than said second member to provide a more intense on-rush of air through said first member interior compartment, said aperture means including a generally centrally disposed opening provided in a cloth wall of said first member end portion in substantial registry with a generally centrally disposed opening provided in an adjacent cloth wall of said second member end portion, and said removable clamping means including a tensionable clamp.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,864,782 6/1932 White -369 X 2,024,143 12/1935 Cameron 55370 X 3,191,365 6/1965 Feeley 55369 3,297,233 l/l967 Meyerhoefer 55381 X 3,330,099 7/1967 Fesco 55--381 X 3,350,859 11/1967 Fesco 55380 1,302,886 5/1919 Wagner 55-370 FRANK W. LUTTER, Primary Examiner B. NOZICK, Assistant Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 5538l, 473 

